Sealing machine



March 20, 1945.

.J. E. UNDERWOOD SEALING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Shed 1 Filed Sept. 10, 1942 INVENTOR.

James v Underwood W I ATTORNEY J. E. UNDE'RWOOD 2,372,138

March 20, 1945.

SEALING MACHINE Filed Sept. 10, 1942 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JamesEUnderwood W X ATTORNEY IIIIIIIII/ '1!!! 7 50 initially. the .cap afterthe sealing operation and'the sealimproved sealing machine in which the cap is retained time Mar. so, 1945' UNITED STATE I TEN OFFlcs sasunonscnme James I- U erwoo him to um Com Pm, a corp ration Application September 1e,,.1a4z, sci-n1 Norton 1cm (craze-e1) I invention relates generally to scaling machines and it concerns, more particularly, a niafileine for am ng closures to containers and the "It is well known to place a, closure cap in position upon the mouth of a container with the skirt of the cap fitted loosely over screw threaded members on the neck oi! the container and to roll or spin the skirt intoclo'se engagement with the neck of the container. By this operation,

' dependi'ne the container is sealed and threads are formed in the skirt oi'the cap which serve to hold the cap in sealing position. and permit the cap. to be screwed on and off the container and tooe used as a reclosure.

. While this rolling or spinning operation is.

taking place,'the closure generally is subjected to. top pressure to or liner of rubber or cork force an internal sealing gasket or other suitable mate'-. rial, commonly provided in the upper portion of the closure, againstthe mouth of the container,

the force usually being suilicient to cause the rim or mouth of the container to press into the liner. This provides "a tightsealing condition When the top pressure is removed from nto encasement with threaded same upon the container after its sidewall is spun WHO,

in the-containeriinish. v

A further object of this invention is to provide-an aut matic mechanism tor deforming the skirt of 'aclosin'e positioned-over mouth oi've. i'onnity with on the neck of the consealing relationship with the Another ohieetoi the invention is to tain'er and for screwine the closure into tilht' Y Y 'olm'fatina a: relatively high and lubrication form, and

are fully encased ior' maximum-cleanliness and 'saietyoifopmflom other objects and io'llowina'v description of invention and in the accomp ny! .in which:

Fig. I is a verticalsectlonal view showin the head and adjacent members of a. preferred-embodiment oithe invention by the cap, f however,. a.

ing stress is assumed slight stretching may occur may be a. slight spring back in the deformed .skirtwall. Such stretching and "spring book" may result in a shifting of the cap on the conin the'ca and ther relative positionswhich'tlie parts assume after the package has been elevated to a p ition to causethe spinning operation totake place;

tainer and cause the initially tight sealing con- I dition to be partially lost. This dimculwcan be overcome by imposing extremely high top pressure against the cap and container so that even after completion oi the sealing operation the A the as mouth of the container remains pressed into the 'liner with sufilcient' force to providev a tisht seal.' Such a high pr'essure,-however, may cause 7 the container to break.

under relatively low top pressure.

The invention has vision, insuch a sealing electing rotation. 01 the machine 01 means for closure totiahten the ioranother object theme-s to screw the can further upon the neck at lnspinninapoe tion ,1

'l a-shait-iiedimoeedin a is a ton'view or a portion-oi the spinninsheadillustratedinl'isaiandilr' Pig 1 a horizontal sectional view taken on 4 I lineW-IY-oi Figs. 1 and 2'; and

Fix. it is a vertical sectional view taken on v-p-v 01-11:, s. a comprises a suitable The machine in senerai closed hose satin: or (not shown) her.- ing an upwardly exten'tiins hollow "I. cub partially shown in a cup-like portion 2 in its uppe anannular scat member 'irom. aeatmembereis v is iournalled. A-cover I'ie securedto-the upper iacecithecupportionlandtheannularaeat member 8. The cover I cooperates with the portion 2 and the seatmeniber 8 to into encasement and con- 1 provide a sealing machine type reierredtotwnich is of senerq-ilysimplifl dcompact, and

appear parts in relative positions they m md amv uswan referably driven from suitably driven mechanism contained in the base casing.-

Suitablyfixedon the shaft 8 is a gear 9 disposed within the cup portion 2, thegear having 2. depending hub III which fits within a bushing ll seated in the upper end of the column 1 to provide a supporting bearing for the gear 9 and the upper end of shaft 8.

Secured in a recess in the inner face of the cover and preferably held by screws i2 is an annular abutment or ring member is having an inclined inner surface forming a trackway, the ring member being coaxial with the bearing ring it. Openings normally closed by the caps is permit access to the interior of the housing should it be desirable to adjust the parts contained therein.

Suitably'mounted above the cover 5 and preferably supported by the standards i is a cam l5 having a trackway id extending vertically in a diagonal direction as shown in Fig. 5. The stand= ards i alsozcarry a rocker it having arms i8 and it). Arm to is provided with an adjustable tappet screw 26; the lower end of which rests upon'a cap 29 seated upon the top of spring 22. The spring 22, encased within tube 23, urges arm is upwardly, thereby forcing arm 88 downwardly.

Supported by the cover 5 and passing through an aperture therein and into the housing is a sleeve 2d. This is keyed to the cover 5 by key 25 which permits axial movement of the sleeve but prevents its rotation, a stop nut or collar is on the upper end of the sleeve limiting the extent of downward movement'of the sleeve. An intermediate portion 2'5 of the sleeve 2 3 is threaded and its lower extremity 28 is outwardly flanged.

Seated upon the flange 28 is a spacing member 29 of suitable bearingmaterial. This supports a bearing liner or bushing 30 which is held between the spacing member 2e and a similar spacing member 3!. and this assembly is locked in position upon the lower portion of the sleeve 24 by a nut 32, which engages the sleeve at its threaded portion 2?.

A tool head 33 is axially supported between the spacing members 29 and 31 and is rotatable about the sleeve 24, the liner 30 forming a bearing surface upon which the rotation takes place. Circumferentially disposed on the tool head 33 and fixed thereto by suitable means such as a key 35 is a gear 35. The assembledsleeve and tool head unitwith its gear-35 is housed in the bearing ringv A and rotatably supported thereby. The gear 35, meshes with an intermediate idler gear 36 (Fig. 1) which, in turn, meshes with the gear 9 on shaft-8 whereby the tool head is caused to rotate"about sleeve 24. 'Vertical movement of the sleeve and tool head unit with respect to the gear 35 is aiforded without breakingthe driving connection between the tool head unit and the gear.

At its outer periphery, the tool head 33 is provided with a plurality of spaced depending fingers 31. These support at their lower extremities a guide bell 38 having an opening 39 in its center.

Suitably mounted at spaced intervals in the tool head 3? are a plurality of rock shafts 40.

I These are of identical construction well known to the art. being shown in detail in the U. S. patent to Sharp 1,674,266 and in the U. S. patent to Hogg 2,178,664, and they are herein described with reference tobut one of the rock shafts and its associated elements. 1

Each rock shaft is mounted in an aperture in the tool head 33, its upper and extending above the tool head and being provided with a twotween.

Spring connections 66 join the several rock shafts and urge the outer extremities of the arms 43 carrying the rollers 86 into abutting relationship with the inclined trackway of abutment member 83.

Attached to the lower extremity of each rock shaft is an inwardly extending foot ll! provided at its lower end with an apertured boss iii, within which a stub shaft to carrying a spinning d sc 50 is journalled. The upper portion of stub shaft d3 extends above the boss 38 and carries a spring 5| for resiliently urging the spinning disc SO upwardly.

A shaft 52 threaded at its upper end and centrally cored at its lower end is mounted within the bore of the sleeve 24. An apertured pres-.

sure block 53 is secured to the lower end of the shaft 52 and has a recess 54 to receive the top of a closure cap during the sealing operation. A longitudinally reciprocable plunger d5 passes through the pressure block 53 and is provided with a head 56 disposed within the cored lower end of the shaft 52. The plunger 65 is normally maintained in its fully extended position by a spring 5?.

Above the cover 5 and carried on the shaft 52 is a ratchet assembly. This comprises a ratchet wheel 58, one or more pawls 59 (Fig. pivotally mounted between parallel discs to. and a headed cam follower Bl. The ratchet wheel 58 is keyed to the shaft 52 at 62 and is provided with hubs upon which the discs are seated, the discs being suitably held in rigid spaced relationship by spacer sleeves 63 and bolts 64. The teeth of the ratchet wheel 58 are engaged by the pawls 59 to permit counterclockwise movement of the discs 6. with respect to the ratchet wheel. The cam follower 6| also is rigidly held between the discs 60, its head being positioned in the diagonally extending trackway l6 of the cam I5. During upward movement of shaft 52 and the ratchet assembly, the cam follower moves upwardly in the trackway l6 and to the left, as viewed in Fig.

5, imparting counterclockwise rotation to the discs 60 with respect to the shaft 52. During downward movement of the shaft and the ratchet assembly, however, when the cam follower moves downwardly in the trackway i6 and to the right, the pawls so engage the teeth of ratchet wheel 58 as to prevent relative movement between the discs 60 and the ratchet wheel, and this forces clockwise. rotation of the entire ratchet assembly and the shaft 52 keyed thereto.

A block 65 is suitably secured to the upper end of the shaft 52 and supports a cap or plate ii. The adjacent faces of the block 65 and the cap 86 are recessed to receive a roller bearing 6'! whereby free relative rotary motion between the block 65 and cap 58 is permitted. A button B fits and reference numeral 12 indicates a rest supporting the container. Preferably closure II is head revert to their original positions, as shown provided with an internal sealing gasket 13. The

rest 12 is adapted to be moved upwardly and to be lowered by cam driven means not shown,

thereby bringing the container into position for the sealing operation.

In theoperation of the machine, a container 1'' supportedupon the rest 12 and having a closure II fitted loosely over its mouth is raised upon the rest from the position shown in Fig. 1 toward thesealing head. The cap portion of the container contacts the lower extremity of plunger 55, forcing the plunger upwardly until the tonal the closure fits within the recess 54 of pressure block 53 whereby the cap and theupper-- end of the container are securely heldinplace for the p 7 cap deforming or sealing operation.

cap and the container and compresses the gasket I! into sealing relationship with the mouth of the container. The amount of pressure exerted by the spring 22 upon the cap and container may be controlled by adjusting the tappet screw 20. The

sleeve 24 and the tool head 33 also are moved upwardly relative to the annular abutment'member IS with the elevation of shaft 52, and the up-.

ward movement of the tool head raises the rock shafts til. This causes thearms 43 on the rock shafts to be swung radially inwardly due to the coactionof' the rollers 44 with the inclined irmer surface of abutment member ii. The inward swinging movement ofthe arms 43 effects turning of the rock shafts,- thereby swinging the feet 41 radially inwardly so that the peripheries of the spinning discs 50 are brought into contact with the skirt portion of the closure cap 'II at a point near the open mouthof the container. Rotation of the. driven tool head 33 carries the spinning discs 50' around the neck of the container, the

discs following progressively the threaded configurations formed onthe containerlneck. and

pressing the skirt of" the closure cap H into conformity with those configurations. In downwardly'following the threaded configurations, the discs II compress the springs until the discs reach the lower portion of the thread formations on the container, as shown in Fig. 2.

While the construction of the rock shafts is deagainst the skirt of the closure cap with sufficient force to press the skirt into intimate contact with the thread-like configurations in the neck of the container. the rockshafts, by virtue'of theresilient connection formed by the bolt and spring ll between the two-part levers attached to their. upperportions, also are so constructed that the force with which the spinning discs-bear against the closure is relieved to accommodate any irregularities or deforrhationsihat-may be. encountered on the neck of the container. This prevents the occasional breakage of containers that might otherwise result if the force could not-be relieved.

Upon completion of the thread spinning oper-. ation, the. sealed container ll moves .downwardly on the rest" and the members in the sealing n Flk- 1- During the sealing operation, the. shaft l2, as it I is lifted by the upwardly travelling container, carrice the ratchet assembly keyed thereto upwardly with respect to thecam I. The cam follower Ii travels laterally within thediagonally extending cam trackway causing the discs II to turn freely in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the shaft I2 and ratchet wheel". when the shaft l2 and the ratchet assembly move downwardly, however, the cam follower 6! causes the discs I to turn in a clockwise direction, thereby imparting rotatlve movement to the shaft 2 through the pawls and ratchet wheel. This rotation of the shaft is transmitted through pressure block 53 to the can so a sto screw the same on the container andv effectively tighten the seal.

3 It will be appreciated that the embodiment by which the invention has been illustrated is 'ca-- I pable of adjustments to adapt it for sealing operations using various types and sizes of containers and closure caps. For example. the container rest can be set at different heights to accommmdate containers of different sizes. and the pressure exerted by the spinning discs II can be varied by adjustment or the resilient spring connection between the upper and lower portions of the two-part levers carried by each rock shaft.

Also; it will be appreciated that the sealing operation may be accomplished by lowering the.

sealing mechanism into engagement with the container'as well as by raising the container to-' ward the sealing mechanism. Also, the amount of rotation imparted to the shaft 52 and the degree to which the closure is turned upon the container may be varied bychanging the angle of the cam trackway lb or by altering the distance in which the cam follower 8! travels therein. It also will be understood that the invention may be utilized in association with machines having.

means other than those illustrated herein for' applying closures to containers by-thread-forming operation, and that various changes. modications,- and additions that will occur to those skilled in the art are intended to-be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a sealing machine, a sealing head, a tool carried by said head for deforming the-skirt wall I signed to permit the spinning discs so to'be urged of a closure into conformity with screw thread configurations on a container adjacent its mouth, a closure-engaging member for maintaining said closure in sealing engagement with the container during deformation of said skirt wall by said tool,

and means for rotating said closure-engaging member to turn said closure and tighten its sealmg engagement with the container.

2. In a sealing machine. a sealing head, a tool carried by said head for deforming the skirt wall of a closure into conformity with screw thread configurations adjacent the mouth of a container, a closure-engaging member. means .for main-' taining saidcontainer with the closure upon its mouth and said closure-engagin member in engagement to hold'said closure in sealing relationship with the' container during deformation of sald'skirt wall by said tool. and means for rotating said closure-cum member .to turn said closure and tighten its sealing relationshi with the container.

.3.Asealingmachinecomprisingasupport,ax fixed abutment secured thereto, a vertically reciprocable closure-mut g member carried by i said supp rt, means for bringing a'container with a closure cap upon its mouth and said closureengaging member into engagement to raise said member with respect to said fixed abutment and to maintain said closure in sealing engagement with the container, thread-forming means associated with said closure-engaging member for bringing the skirt of said closure cap into conformity with thread-like configurations in the neck of said container, said thread-forming means being moved into operative contact with said closure u on elevation of saidclosure-em aaraise' fined abutment j thereto, a fixed cam m. ing a vertically inclined-trackway, a vertically Zreciprocable closure-engaging member carried by said support, means for bringing a container with a closure cap upon its mouth and having screw thread configurations in its neck and said closure-engaging member into engagement to raise said member with respect to said fixed abutment ber, means for bringing said container with the tool for deforming the skirt wall of a closure into conformity with screw thread configurations adjacent the mouth of a container, a vertically re ciprocable closure-engaging member, means for bringing the container with the closure cap upon its mouth and said closure-engaging member into axially aligned engagement and to raise said member and maintain said closure in sealing relationship with the container during deformation of said skirt wall by said tool, and means for turning said closure-engaging member during its downward travel to tighten the seal effected by said closure cap upon said container, said last named means comprising a rotatable element ioumalled to said c sure-engaging member, a. cam follower securedto said rotatable element and adapted to move within the vertically inclined trackwayof said cam and to turn said rotatable element upon vertical reciprocation of said closure-engaging member; and means adapt-l ed to cause rotation of said closure-engaging member as said member travels downwardly.

6. A sealing machine comprising a support, a

gaging member relative to said fixed abutment,

and means for turning said closure-engaging member upon completion of the thread-forming operation to tighten said closure cap upon said container, said last named means comprising a rotatable element journalled about said vertically reciprocable shaft, a cam follower secured to said rotatable element and adapted to move within the trackway of said fixed cam and to turn said rotatable element upon vertical reciprocation of said closure-engaging member, and means adapt, ed to prevent relative movement between said rotatable element and said closure-engaging member as said member travels downwardly.

7. In a sealing machine the combination of a sealing head and a fixed cam having a vertically inclined trackway, said sealing head comprising a tool for deforming the skirt wall of a closure into conformity with screw thread configurations adjacent the mouth ofa container, s vertically reciprocable closure-engaging member, means for moving the container with the closure cap upon its mouth into engagement with said closure-em gaging member to raise said member and to maintain said closure in sealing relationship with the container during deformation of said skirt by said tool, and means for turning said member during its downward travel to tighten the sealing relationship between said closure cap and con-'- tainer, said last named means comprising a ratchet fixed to said closure-engaging member, a rotatable element journalled to said member, a

' ing member, and a pawl for engaging said ratchet toprevent relative movement between said rotatable element and said closure-engaging mem her as said member travels downwardly.

JAMES E.'UNDERWOOD. 

